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SCHOOL BUILDINGS 





ARKANSAS 



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School Buildings 



Suggestions for the selection and 
Improvement of Sites — the Con- 
struction of Buildings, and their 
Decoration and Equipment — 
Heating and Ventilation 



ft 



ARKANSAS 

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 

1911 







Public School Building, Dumos, Arkansas. 



1H PS2-008330 



FOREWORD 

This booklet is a compilation of suggestions and material taken from 
the reports and other pamphlets of this Department, also, cuts, designs and 
selections from similar publications of other State Departments of Public 
Instruction. 

It is dedicated to the school directors, teachers and school children of 
Arkansas in the interest of better public school facilities, believing that, next 
to the home, the school should be a place of comfort and beauty, cleanly, 
sanitary, well heated, perfectly lighted — a place in which the children and 
the entire school., community should take pride and which should stand forth 
as a true index of the social, civic and even moral standards of the com- 
munity. 

Respectfully, 

GEO. B. COOK, 
State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 



Rural School Buildings in Arkansas 

Planning a school building has come to be one of the most important 
and exacting problems of the district school trustee, yet not a few trustees 
appreciate the fact. As a result it is not uncommon to find a country school 
sadly lacking in such essential features as high-class construction, lighting, 
heating, and sanitation. This, no doubt, is sometimes due to financial limita- 
tions, but more often it is due to a lack of knowledge of the accepted rules 
and principles of modern school sanitation and construction. 

It is my privilege to point out some of the ways by which the country 
school can be made more sanitary, convenient and artistic. 

LOCATION. 

Before planning the building it is necessary to provide the site. This 
should be centrally located, on high ground, if possible, where good drainage 
is assured, and where the purest air can be obtained, always remembering 
that the locality admitting the east light into the class-room is the one above 
all others to be preferred in this climate. 

In regard to the requirements of the model country school — and when I 
say requirements I have in mind the fact that where expense enters so 
largely into the problems it is impossible to have everything as we might 
wish. Still there are certain necessities that we can not overlook, and 
many desirable features that should be incorporated in the school so far as 
our means will permit. 

FLOOR PLAN. 

In planning the building, the first consideration is the floor arrangement, 
which should be well studied so as to get the most conveniences within the 
least possible space. In studying the floor plan the class-room necessarily 
receives our first attention. It should be made the size required to accom- 
modate the number of pupils who are to occupy it, allowing not less than 
fifteen square feet of floor space to each pupil. Where the light is from the 
left side only, the room should not exceed twenty-five feet in width and not 
over thirty-two feet in length. Too great a length should be avoided. In 
France and Germany the maximum length of a school room is thirty feet. 
This is the distance to which the average voice wilT carry with ease, and 
the pupils in the back part of the room can easily read the writing on the 
front blackboard. 



CLOAK ROOM AND HALLS. 

In connection with every school building provisions should be made for 
a small room for the use of the teacher. This, of course, will incur a little 
additional expense, but is money well expended, as this is a very essential 
part of the building. 

Rooms must be provided for the hanging of cloaks and hats. Making 
use of the halls and class rooms for this purpose is not only unsightly, but 
unsanitary. The cloak room should not be less than five feet wide and 
should have outside light and ventilation. Numbered coat and hat hooks 
should be provided, placed at alternate heights of four feet and five feet 
for the accommodation of the' different sized pupils; also shelves for lunch 
baskets and rubbers. It has been demonstrated that this room when placed 
in direct connection with the class room is more convenient, and under 
closer supervision of the teacher. In this arrangement also the venilation 
in the winter months is more easily provided for. 

A small heated and ventilated locker should also be provided in the 
cloak room for drying damp clothing if the heater adjoins the cloak room. 

The halls should be of ample size, so that there will be no crowding 
of pupils. 

All ceilings should be twelve feet six inches to thirteen feet high. 




Public School, Blytheville, Arkansas. 



Heating and Ventilating 

The question of heating and ventilation is a very important one and 
should receive the closest attention from the school trustees. When we 
consider that all the best authorities on school architecture state that no 
less than thirty cubic feet of fresh air per minute should be furnished each 
pupil in a class room, we realize more fully the conditions under which 
the children labor in all poorly ventilated schools. There are several 
dangerous elements in vitiated air, but the fact that children are often 
afflicted with contagious diseases is one of the most important reasons for 
providing good ventilation. 

The elaborate heating and ventilating systems, such as are used in the 
modern, up-to-date city school, where a blower is used in combination with 
air filters and automatic regulation of temperature, are very expensive. 
They cost too much to install and operate in a small country school where 
similar results can be obtained at a reasonable expense by the use of jacket- 
ed stoves or heaters in which fresh air is introduced through a conduit from 
the ouside. The conduit should be provided with dampers that can be easily 
operated from the school room. 

The fresh air should be introduced into the space between the heater 
and the jacket or casing; it may enter either from under the heater or 
through the casing a short distance above the floor. The fresh air rises be- 
tween heater and casing, and, when heated, enters the room from the top. 

To secure the best results with a system of this kind, a heater should 
be used that has no projections that might obstruct the passage of air with- 
in the casing. This space should be left entirely open for the free circulation 
of air. 

Foul air is removed from the room either through the chimney flue or 
through a separate metal vent pipe. If the flue extends down to the floor, 
the foul air current may be admitted through a register placed at the floor 
line. If the chimney is built upon a shelf, a pipe is provided for conducting 
foul air from the floor to the smoke pipe opening. 

Many rural schools have chimneys too small to accommodate both the 
smoke current and the foul air current. For such buildings a plant may be 
obtained having a separate foul air pipe, which is partly enclosed within the 
casing, and which extends upward through the ceiling and root In this 
plant the foul air pipe is heated by direct radiation from the heater, thus 
producing an upward draught. When the chimney is used for ventilation, 
the same result is accomplished by the heat of the smoke gases. 

Since the foul air is the coldest air in the room, and settles toward the 
floor, the outlet should be placed near the floor line. The pressure of fresh 
heated air from the casing tends to force the colder foul air through the 
vent opening below. 

Gravity system, operating as above described, may be purchased at a 
reasonable cost. The well-known systems that have been used and found 
efficient in Arkansas schools are sold direct to boards by reliable companies 
and are fully guaranteed. 

The ordinary stove may be enclosed within a metal casing and provided 
with a fresh air inlet. This equipment will be a great improvement over the 
naked stove, which should never be used in the school room. But unless 
care is exercised to see that the apparatus is properly constructed and in- 
stalled it may not prove entirely satisfactory. 



BLACKBOARDS. 

In regard to blackboards, there is a strong prejudice in favor of slate, 
on account of its durability. When the very best quality of slate is secured 
there can be no question as to its merits. The initial expense is, however, 
much greater than that of composition boards, which answer the purpose 
about as well, can be obtained in better lengths, and are much more easily 
applied. These advantages together with the color — a pleasing shade of 
green — make the latter boards all that can be desired. No board should 
be accepted without being guaranteed by a responsible dealer or manufac- 
turer. Hyloplate and other similar boards should be glued to a one-half 
inch board backing in order to get the best results. The Parshall green 
artificial slate has proved to be a very satisfactory board. It is really a 
slating which is applied either directly to the plastered wall, to heavy 
Manila paper glued to the wall, or to wooden boards. Much care must be 
taken, however, in preparing for this or any other artificial board of this 
class to see that the walls are properly seasoned and prepared before the 
preparation is applied. Otherwise the board that ordinarily would prove 
good might prove unsatisfactory. A still cheaper form of blackboard is 
manufactured by the use of hard plaster and paint, but it is too easily 
damaged to be seriously considered. 

Blackboards should be two feet six inches from the floor and from 
three feet six inches to four feet wide, with an extension back of the 
teacher's desk of two extra feet. 

Grooved chalk rails should be provided under blackboards. Over the 
top of chalk rail, or rather one-half inch from the top, there should be a 
galvanized wire mesh cover, so that chalk dust can settle through and save 
the chalk and erasers from being covered with dust. The cover should 
have a wired edge and be made to open out for cleaning. 

DESKS. 

The best schools have adopted single desks and no more double desks 
should be used, as they cause the spread of disease and contaminate the 
pure by close relationship with immoral seat mates. The amount of study 
is lessened and the need of discipline is increased by children sitting 
together. 

Great care should be exercised to adapt the height of desks to the size 
of children who occupy them. 

The best furniture will in the end be the cheapest. 

LIGHTING. 

The lighting of the class room is the most important problem in school 
building. Under no circumstances should a pupil be forced to face the light, 
and in the best planned school rooms the teacher is equally favored. The 
only proper lighting is that introduced over the left shoulder of the pupil. 
High lights over the blackboard in the rear are better omitted, but are 
frequently used for the architectural effect. 

The glass surface should equal at least one-fifth the floor space, and the 
windows should be not less than three feet six inches from the floor, coin- 
ing up as close to the ceiling as the casing and finish will permit. The best 
glass only should be used divided where necessary to provide for the 
proper degree of safety Erom breakage. Sheet prism glass can now be 



obtained at reasonable price, and I would recommend its use in tbe proper 
lights of the windows, or at least in the transoms, for by its use the light 
in the room can be made more uniform. 

The shades should be of the best quality and be made double; placed 
at the center of the window so as to work up and down. The edges should 
be reinforced and run in grooved pieces so as to prevent a glare of light 
entering between casing and shade. 

SEWERAGE. 

There is no good reason why toilets and other conveniences in the 
piumbing line should not be used in connection with the country schools. 
The principal trouble heretofore has been in the water supply and drainage; 
but the water supply can easily be taken care of by means of a pneumatic 
tank, placed in the ground near the building, and a force pump properly con- 
nected with the tank of the building. The size of tbe tank must be graded 
to suit requirements — say about 200 gallons to a class-room. It will then 
i't possible to have running water to all fixtures, sinks, toilets, and basins — 
all of which can be relied upon. The toilets for the use of scholars should 
be automatic. 

The question of sewage disposal has of late years become a simple 
matter. Formerly it was necessary to resort to drainage into ditches, cess- 
pools, and streams. iNow, however, there is no occasion for these, for by 
tne use of the septic system of sewerage, which is considered the only 
f-cientific system in use today, all sewage can be readily disposed of. Double 
cisterns are built and connected under ground. The first cistern is divided 
into two compartments. The first compartment or settling chamber re- 
ceives the sewage, the liquid portion of which flows in a sheet into the' 
second compartment. This in turn flows into the large flush tank, where, 
when the water reaches a certain point, it is automatically siphoned off into 
a drain pipe leading to a point where porous terra cotta pipes are run out 
in different directions. The sewage is distributed through the open joints 
cf these branch pipes, which are not more than fourteen feet below the sur- 
face of the ground. At this depth the sewage will be oxidized. This arrange- 
ment can be simplified so as to give satisfactory results at a very little cost. 

OUT BUILDHNGS. 

Where there are no waterworks, outside closets should be used and the 
same should be placed a good distance from the main building. The build- 
ings to be sufficiently large to accommodate the pupils and to be protected 
by lattice screens from the outside. 

Each school should have two separate out house buildings, located in 
that part of the school grounds, at the farthest point from the main entrance 
of the school house, and as far apart as possible. They should be kept 
clean in every respect, and in good repair. 

For the average school these buildings should be about 6 feet square, 
and 7 or 8 feet high, surrounded by a tight board fence 6 feet high. 

The vault under the building should be of some substantial material and 
plastered on the inside with cement. This prevents drainage into the soil 
and any possible contamination of the water supply. Such an amount of dry 
toil washes should be placed in the receptacle as will absorb all liquids in 
tne vault, and keep the excreta covered. The vault should be thoroughly 
cleaned at least twice each term. 

9 



Proper urinal troughs should be provided iu the boys' closet on the in- 
side of the guard fence. 

The outhouses should be provided with windows, the sills of which are 
not less than 5 feet from the ground. 

Too great care can not be taken in the location and construction of the 
outhouses. When properly located and properly constructed, special atten- 
tion should be given to their care. No one thing speaks more strongly in 
favor of or against a Board of Directors and the teacher than the condition 
cf the outhouses. They should be in such condition at all times that the 
teacher would not hesitate to call the attention of any patron of the district 
to them. 

Neglect of outhouses is the source of demoralization of many children. 
There should be two as far apart as the grounds will permit. Each should 
be screened and vines be planted to overrun the screen. The walls should be 
kept free from obscene language and pictures. 

There are yet to be found double outhouses on school grounds. It is 
difficult to conceive of a worse arrangement than these double doored 
abominations. To build one of them should be a penal offense. Better 
expose the children to a deadly contagious disease than to subject them to 
the moral leprosy which lurks in these double outhouses. 




Rural School, District No. 4, Keevil, Monroe County. 



10 



Water Supply 



It is very essential that the water supply for drinking purposes should 
be of the very best. Wells should be located so that the surface water 
will not run into same. The greatest care should be taken in the selection 
of drinking water. If stoves are used in rooms there should be always a 
vessel of fresh water kept on same to keep the air moist. It is a good 
idea to have several buckets of water kept in convenient places as a pro- 
tection in the case of fire. 

THE DRINKING WATER PROBLEM. 

Children require a great deal of drinking water during the day, much 
more than adults. It is absolutely necessary for both health and com- 
fort. Where a good well can be provided it should be done, but every 
well should be provided with a concrete covering and a drain pipe so placed 
that water cannot run back into the well. If it is so sealed that animals 
cannot get into it, pumping out thoroughly before school begins is suflacient 
to keep the water wholesome. A good pump should be provided and kept 
in repair. 

When a cistern is used, the water should be made to pass through a 
filter, three feet by three feet and four feet deep, and should be filled with 
sand. It should be placed below the frost line. The cistern should be pro- 
vided with a pump and cleaned out before school begins. 

THE DEADLY DRINKING CUP AND WATER BUCKET. 

The common water bucket is one of the greatest sources for the spread 
of disease that could possibly be devised. Every time a child drinks, it leaves 
a part of the contents of its mouth on the cup. The next child washes this 
off when it dips in the cup. When twenty or thirty children have done this 
the water may spread colds, mumps, fevers, consumption, diphtheria or other 
infectious diseases, the germs of which are in the mouth of a single child. 
The child having the germs in its mouth may not have or take the disease, 
its system being able to throw off the germs. But it may be able to infect 
a child whose system is in a condition to take the disease. The amount of 
dust which collects on the water of an open bucket is another source of 
disease. When we think that the bucket is never scalded or washed there 
can be no doubt of its being a disease breeder. 

The common water cup has been prohibited by law in some states and 
school boards are compelled to provide sanitary drinking fountains or see to 
it that individual cups are used. 

The school board should provide a water tank with a cover and a faucet, 
and a rule might be made that each child have its own cup. This rule, 
however, should be adopted by the board. Should the teacher alone try to 
institute this reform she might lose her influence in many a community, the 
people not understanding the reason for, or the necessity of this departure 
from a long practice. Nothing is more certain than that the new way 
would avoid much discomfort, disease, and even death. 

A sanitary drinking fountain, combined with a filter, and which does not 
require water under pressure, is shown on pages 61-63. 



11 



THE COMMON TOWEL NUISANCE. 

The common towel may spread skin diseases and sore eyes through a 
whole school. The school board can provide paper towels at a cost of four 
hundred for twenty cents. A towel is used by a child and then thrown 
into the waste basket. It is cheaper than washing the roller towels. 



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'ublic School, Brinkley, Arkansas. 



HOW TO ABOLISH DUST. 

Twenty or more children bring in a great deal of dirt, even if the greatest 
care is taken. Sweeping raises a cloud of dust that settles on every sur- 
face in the school room. Dusting is done with a feather duster which stirs 
it once more and again it settles. When any one walk~s across, the floor 
or moves about he raises the dust. The school room should be thoroughly 
washed before beginning school, the floor, the desks, and the woodwork. 
The walls should be thoroughly brushed. The teacher should be provided 
with a preparation to keep down the dust when she sweeps. The dust should 
be wiped up with a cloth. A clean, tastefully decorated house is not only 
healthful, it has a powerful influence for good in the school. Poor house- 
keeping on the part of the teacher is a sure sign of ah inferior school in 
some important particulars. 

A very good home-made dust preventer may be made by taking a barrel 
of good grade saw dust and thoroughly mixing it with five quarts of common 
paraffine oil. Should this preparation be kept in an open barrel a little oil 
may be added as needed. The oil usually sells at 20 cents per gallon. A 
"'\v handsful only of the preparation are required at each sweeping. 



12 



INTERIOR FINISH. 

The woodwork on the interior of a model country school should be as 
plain as possible, omitting all fancy molds and quirks, as they are only dust 
catchers and add to the expense. A natural finish makes the wood more 
beautiful and desirable. The different rooms should be wainscoted to the 
specified height. The plastered walls and ceilings should have a good sand 
finish, as it is more sightly than hard finish and is freer from cracks where 
protected by wainscoting. The tinting shows to much better advantage when 
placed on such a surface. 

The color of tint for walls and ceiling should be se'.ectd to harmonize 
with the wood finish and blackboards; the exposure should also be taken into 
account. Light olive green is a very good color for an eastern exposure, but 
if green blackboards are used, the painter will find difficulty in getting the 
shades to harmonize. Rather than risk having the shades clash, it would be 
better to use some soft shade of brown or tan, with a light cream ceiling. 

EXTERIOR. 

After planning the interior of the building and providing the necessary 
hygienic demands, we take up the problem of the outside appearance. 

A building erected for any purpose should indicate its essential use by 
its appearance, especially a building designed for educational purposes, which 
should not only indicate its use by its appearance, but set an example of good 
taste and dignity for the community. A school building so designed will 
cultivate in the young that perception of proportion and relation to utility 
and adornment that constitutes taste in architecture and will fulfill a large 
part of its mission. 

In the small country school, as well as in the schools of the large cities, 
the best example of architecture should be seen. The building should not 
be elaborate in detail, nor yet severely plain. Still it must have beauty, grace 
and dignity, be symmetrical in outline with well-proportioned parts and with 
as little ornament as the style employed will justify. 

The quality of the material to be used in the erection of the building 
will depend largely on the locality. Wood has been used almost exclusively 
for buildings of this class, but there is no reason why brick, stone or con- 
crete should not be used in localities where these materials can be cheaply 
obtained. The cost is slightly more than wood, but the building is far mors 
durable. All buildings other than wood should be damp-proofed. 

SPECIFICATIONS. 

Specifications of the labor and materials required in the erection of h. 

"Model Rural School House," to be built for school district No , in the 

county of State of Arkansas, according to plans fur- 
nished by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

DRAWING THE GENERAL CONDITIONS. 

The several drawings here referred to, are as follows and consist of: 

Plan of foundation and basement. 

Plan of floor arrangement. 

Plan of roof. 

Transverse section. 

Longitudinal section. 

Front and side elevations. 

The several drawings must be carefully followed according to scale, and 
all notes, figures and explanations wherever they appear upon the drawings, 
must be carefully followed, as they, with the drawings and specifications, are 
all part of the contract. 

13 



The contractor shall make no alterations in the drawings or specifica- 
tions. The contractor shall furnish all labor and materials, scaffoldings, etc., 
and everything needful for the completion of the work. Should the con- 
tractor introduce any materials or workmanship other than the kind speci- 
fied, it shall be removed at his expense at any time during the progress of 
the work. All work must be executed in a good, substantial and workman- 
like manner, and nothing to be omitted which is necessarily connected with 
the proper completion of the work. 

Excavations. — Do all necessary excavating required for the basement and 
all piers or other foundations, as shown and required by the drawings. 

All heights must be taken from a grade stake. 

Dig the banks in excavating 6 inches beyond outside line of stone walls. 

Grading. — Fill in around and pack the earth against the walls after the 
mortar is dry, and level it off as directed by superintendent. 

Footings. — Day down footings under all the walls of the building of flat, 
well bedded stone not less than 8 inches thick and to project 4 inches on 
each side of the walls above. This footing course shall be composed of large 
stones, fitted close together, each filling the course in width and height. 

Joints shall be flushed with spawls and cement mortar. 

Foundations. — Properly lay up foundations and basement walls 16 inches 
in thickness, with good, flat building stone, laid on their natural bed, and 
well bonded, laid in clean sharp sand and Fort Scott Cement mortar, in 
parts of one of cement to two of sand, laid to a line on both faces and 
properly flushed and pointed at completion. 

Day down in like manner substantial foundations under the chimney, 
porch piers and exterior steps. 

Underpinning. — From the top of foundation walls at grade level, lay the 
underpinning up in height, as shown by the drawings, with two courses 
of 8-inch lime stone range pitch faced, laid to a line, with close joints, and 
to be pointed at completion with raised joint of Portland cement mortar. 

The window sills shall be of lime stone properly cut and set in place 
where shown on foundation plan. 

Chimney. — Build the chimney to correspond with the drawings, using 
hard burned brick laid in lime mortar, as per size figured on drawings. Flue 
to be perfectly straight and true, and uniform in size throughout and made 
smooth, with cut joints on the inside. Top out above the roof with select 
red brick laid in white mortar and properly cleaned down on completion. 

Furnish and set in the brick work of flue and furnace smoke pipe an 
8 inch black iron thimble. The smoke pipe from furnace shall be made oi 
No. 14 stack steel, properly supported and anchored in place. 

Dathing. — All walls, partitions and ceilings throughout the building shall 
be lathed with No. 1 white pine laths, full thickness, laid on a quarter of an 
inch apart, with 4 nailings to each lath, joints broken every 12 inches. 
Under no circumstances must the laths stop and form long vertical joints, 
neither permit any laths to run through partitions behind the studding from 
one room to another. 

All angles must be thoroughly spiked together before lathing. 

Plastering. — All walls, partitions and ceilings throughout the building 
shall be plastered with Aggatite or Acme Cement Plaster mixed according to 
given directions, and properly put on and applied with sufficient force to 
secure clinches. 

Devel up and float the brown coat and make it true and straight at all 
points, angles and openings. All corners and angles shall be made perfectly 
straight and true, and finished in a workman-like manner. All lathing and 
plastering shall extend down to the floor. All walls shall be straight and 
plumb and even with the grounds. 

Deave all floors broom clean; do all the necessary mending and patching 
after the workmen, and leave everything in a perfect state. 

Timber. — The whole of the timber used in and throughout this build- 
ing shall be well seasoned and free from shakes, knots, or other imperfec- 
tions impairing its strength and durability. 

Dimension stuff for joints, studs, rafters, etc., shall be No. 2 yellow pine. 
All exterior finish lumber for cornices, casings, base and other finish shall 
be of white pine, "C" select. 

14 



Framing. — Timber must be prepared and framed according to the plans, 
sections and details. All joints shall be placed with the crowning edge 
upwards. The figuring of heights or stories on the sectional drawing and 
figures on plans for interior work, are for the dimensions in the clear. All 
joints shall be spiked together at the ends and to each other where they come 
together, and to all bearings. 

Bridging. — Bridge the floor joists through the center of each room with 
two rows of 1x3 inch stuff properly cut in between the joists and nailed at 
each end with two 8d nails. 

Headers and Trimmers. — All headers and trimmers shall be properly 
framed and spiked together, leaving all openings of sufficient size for the 
finish of stairs, chimney, etc. 

Size of Timbers. — Sills shall be framed as shown by the drawings with 
2x8 inch plate below, outside member 2x10 inch, and 2x6 inch plate on top. 
Floor joists shall be 2x10 inch, placed 16 inches from centers, ceiling joists 
2x10, placed 16 inches from centers; partitions and other studding will be 
2x6, placed 16 inches on centers. Corner posts built of two pieces of 2x6, 
with a 2x8 between, thoroughly spiked together, roof rafters to be 2x6, 
16 inches from centers, wall plates 2x6 double thickness, porch sills to be 4x6 
and properly framed into main sills, porch joists 2x6, 16 inches from centers, 
porch rafters and ceiling joists 2x6, 16-inch centers, porch plates, posts, 
etc., to be made according to the general drawings. All door studs shall 
be set double. All openings over three feet in width shall have double 
headers and thoroughly trussed overhead. All angles shall be framed solid 
by spiking studs together. Porch to be ceiled over head with 5-8 inch yel- 
low pine ceiling. 

Exterior Frame Work. — Cover the frame of the building with No. 2 
yellow pine, ship lap boards not over 10 inches in width, nailing through 
each bearing, these boards to be placed horizontally on the franne. 

Siding. — Shall be "C" select white pine, 6 inches with 4 1-2 inches 
exposed to the weather. All joints shall be closely fitted against corner 
boards, casings, etc., and nailed to the walls with 6d wire nails. 

Corner Boards. — Cornice, bands, corner boards, water tables, etc., will 
be made as shown by elevation and sections. 

Roofing. — The carpenter shall frame and construct the roof according 
to the drawings, in a thorough manner. The rafters shall project the 
walls as shown for cornices and gutters. 

The gutters shall be graded on the inside so as to throw the water 
to the points indicated for the location of the down spouts. 

For shingling; put on horizontally 7-8 inch yellow pine strips 7 inches 
from centers, joints broken and nailed to each bearing with lOd nails. 

Shingles. — Shingles shall be put on in the best manner, properly laid, 
joints broken and nailed with two 3d course cut nails, to stand away from all 
angles and valleys the proper distance. These shingles shall be of the best 
quality red cedar, 6 to 2 inches, and laid 4% inches to the weather. Ridges 
shall be covered with 1x6 white pine boards nailed with lOd nails. 

Window Frames. — All window frames for insertion in the woodwork 
shall be made with the outside casing 1x4% inches, and pulley stiles % 
inches thick, properly housed at the head and sills and to have % inches 
sub-sill, bottom sills to be made of 2x8 inches white pine. All frames shall 
have partings and blind stops set back the proper distance for outside 
blinds. All frames shall have two-inch lath turned sash pulleys, bronze 
face, pockets for sash weights. Shingle sash in basement shall have three- 
inch steel butts and proper fasteners. Transoms shall be as shown on 
drawings. All sash shall be 1% inches in thickness. The basement frames 
shall be made of 2x10 clear white oak. 

Inside Work. — The carpenter must run the flooring closely around all 
the walls, completely closing all spaces. 

Grounds. — 'Put on grounds for finish of all doors before the plasterer. 
All these grounds shall be set perfectly straight, plumb and true to a line, 
and for lath work, not to exceed % inches in thickness. 

Flooring. — Floor shall be laid with lx4-inch star yellow pine, secret 
nailed to every joist, well driven and laid close to the wall. All flooring 
shall be tongued and grooved, carefully laid with joists broken. 

15 




It-lPRoveo 0**C1 Room ScrtooL 



Plan suggesting Alterations for the improvement of a One-room School 

Building. 



16 



Finish. — All inside finish will be made of strictly clear, well seasoned 
yellow pine. All doors that are marked for glass in upper panels will be 
glazed with D. S. A. glass. All transoms will be glazed and hung at the top 
with 2x2-inch brass butts and provided with a Woolensack patent transom 
lifter. 

Blackboards. — Furnish and set in place where shown No. 1 slate black- 
boards four feet in height and finished with 2-inch lip mould on top and 
4-inch chalk mould below. 

Size of Doors. — Shall be marked on floor plans for width, height and 
thickness. Hang all doors throughout with loose joint, bronze plate butts 
3^ by 3% inches. Front door shall have three butts 4^ by iV 2 inches. 

Locks. — The main entrance door shall have 5-inch mortise bronze faced 
locks with two keys. All other doors shall have ZV 2 by S^-inch mortise 
locks. 

Sash and Windows. — All windows shall be cased to correspond with 
the doors, and finished with a rebated and moulded stool and apron worked 
and moulded as shown. Sash shall be of the best clear white pine, with 
apron mould sash bar and weather lipped meeting rails. All sash shall be 
1% inches in tbickness. 

Every double hung window in the building shall have an Ives patent 
burglar proof sash lock on meeting rails, with bronze finish. Also provide 
a bronze bar handle lift for each window. 

Glass. — All glass throughout the building, except as otherwise specified, 
shall be D. S. A. glass, well bedded, tacked and puttied. 

Stairway. — Shall be built where shown on the floor plans in the best 
and most substantial manner, and shall be supported on rough carriages, 
cut from 2xl2-inch joists. Stairs shall have 1%-inch treads and treads shall 
have nosing on front edge, and be provided with 2-inch side hand rails. 

Angle Beads. — Shall be placed on all corners as required to protect the 
angles of plastered walls, to be 3 feet 6 inches in length, and 1% inches in 
diameter, and have ornamented turned heads. 

Painting. — Furnish all materials and perform all labor for the full com- 
pletion and proper painting of the building, cover all sap or knots in the 
exterior woodwork with a coat of strong shellac before priming; putty up 
all woodwork smoothly before applying the last coat. On the outside work 
use for priming coat a mixture of one part of white lead and two parts of 
ochre ground in oil, mixed with pure boiled linseed oil. 

Exterior. — Paint the exterior woodwork with three coats, the second 
coat and last coats to be pure white lead and boiled linseed oil, the lead to 
be used for this work must be of the best quality, strictly pure Collier's 
white lead and boiled linseed oil. 

The colors shall be selected by the superintendent. Paint all the tin- 
work with two coats of mineral roofing paint, the down spouts to be finished 
with trimming color same as used on the building. 

Interior. — All the interior woodwork must be thoroughly cleaned off 
and filled with "Wheeler's patent mineral filler by rubbing thoroughly into 
the pores and wiping off while wet. 

Finish the woodwork with two coats of Berry Bros.' hard oil. 

The painter must see that all woodwork is perfectly clean before fill- 
ing. Putty all nail-heads and other defects, using care to thoroughly match 
the putty in color with the wood and to sandpaper smooth and prepare all 
woodwork before applying the second coat. The painter shall see that all 
spots are cleaned off the walls and glass, and leave everything in a perfect 
and finished state. 

Gutters and Valleys. — For the gutters, valleys and down-spouts and 
chimney caps use No. 26 galvanized iron and run the iron under the shingles 
at least 6 inches. The gutter shall be riveted and soldered, and held in 
place with proper stays. Down-spouts shall be put up where indicated on 
plans, with all necessary curves to bring the water to grade level, and 
there connect into the drain pipe. 

All joints shall be lapped, riveted and soldered tightly together. 

Down-spouts shall be thoroughly secured to the building, the sizes of 
leaders to be 3 inches. "Valleys to be flashed and counter-flashed in a thor- 
ough manner. Also furnish all the other flashing ready painted for the 
use of the carpenter to enable him to make all parts of porch and windows 
thoroughly water-tight. 

17 




TBONf CLCVAtlON 



^/tf T y yrr -*-^- 



_2iv*T. Junk . isu. 



No. 1. 

One-room School Building. 

Designed for heating with floor furnace. 



18 




m m 



n 



TTTT 1 I I I 1 1 II 



CETirnnrrn 



Lnxmrum 



rrrri 



Tlodcl- Plan 



□ 




No. 1. 
One-room School Building. 



19 




20 



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o • 

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8 

s 




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CLA>£>S l »OOM 
21*25' 



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CLeAKS VESTIBUI.& CLOAK c, 



One Room School. 

No. 3. 
One-room School Building. 



22 




CLAvSS Rot 



OL.OAK.& 



No. 4. 
Oue-room School Building. 



23 




FROMT ELEVATION 
QUEL Roo-^ Sc^ooU 




No. 5. 
One-room School Building. 



24 




oesitrt fox /imc tow scwet. 



SSS^BSSB^^^ S^SI^^^^^^ S 



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25*34, 



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No. 6. 
One-room School Building. 



25 




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CU/KSS Room 



CLASS Room 



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<=!-»«. w 3 I Vtt.-^ , ra ^i_e I CL«ak3 



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TWa record ScweeL 

No. 7. 
Two-room School Building. 



26 





CLASS Re 



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Two (gooi-'x School , 

No. 8. 
Two-room School Building. 



27 





T*vvo Room School 

No. 9. 
Two-room School Building. 



2S 




Front Et_EV»»-noM . 




Moo«.T«««» Room Ru«*i. Sc««aL, 



No. 10. 
Three-room School Building. 



29 




77^o .<€3do*t ,Sc*vo o£ 



Z 



s ////]^k=VM-it/;;;, 



' /;//;//,)v777'/ S7Trt//77^/777?77U- 



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<~/ *S-3 ^Mxl 



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ll I^ P=fe^ 



No. 11. 

Two-room School Building. 




/3-e 7?*/? /-■£?■ /Zoom ScmooC- 




No. 12. 
Three-room School Building. 



31 




Promt Elevation 
TWree Room Scmoo). 




F^-OO'? Pt-A>M. 



No. 13. 
Three-room School Building. 



32 








No. 14. 
Four-room School Building. 



33 






J 



< 




'1 



CLASS Room 
2-a'*.3-2.' 







CZD 



H^u 



CLmsRc 



Pouch 



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CLASS tgoom 



Mootu root Igoo^ Scxooy, K«> 
NO. 15. 

Four-room School Building. 



34 




Design No. 42. This is a modern 3-roomr school building-, has all necessary 
cloak rooms conveniently located. Ceilings are all 14 feet high. Building- has all 
necessary vent flues. The rear room has stage and dressing- rooms, and can be 
used for entertainments, etc. Hall is large and well lighted. This modern brick 
school building can be erected fotr $4,500.00. If plumbing is put in, $S00.00. If 
heated with hot air, $300.0. Total cost, $5,600.00. i 

R. P. Morrison, Architect. 



35 





*m 






Desian No 41 This is a modern 4-room school building, has cloak rooms con- 
venient for each class. Ceilings are all 14 feet high. Building has two large flues 
for stoves. Has wide hall running clear through. This modern frame school build- 
ing can be erected in almost any locality for $3,80(1.00. If heated with hot air, 

ii Not arranged for plumbing. Total cost $4,050.00. 
*" r. p. Morrison, Architect. 



3G 




v-rt^ 




Design No. 44. This is a modern 4-room school building, has oloak room and 
lockers. Ceilings are all 14 feet high. Building is arranged to heat with stoves. 
Has very wide and well arranged hall, and stairs located in rear. This modern 
brick school building can be erected in almost any locality for $5,500.00. The sec- 
ond floor has stage and dressing rooms so that it can be used for entertainments. 
There is a flexifold or accordion partition through the center, which can be closed 

for school purposes. 

R. P. Morrison, Architect. 



37 




Design No. 43. This is a modern 4-room school building; has all necessary 

cloak rooms. Ceilings are all if feet high. Building is provided with all necessary 

ventilating flues, and closel for teachers. Hall is large and spacious, showing where 

stairs could be bulll should the building be erected two stories. This modern brick 

building can be erected for $6,000. Plumbing, Jl.000.00. Hot air heat, $:!50.00. 

Total iO 00. 

i:. P. Morrison, Architect. 

38 




Design No 40. This is a modern 8 -room school building, has cloak rooms con- 
venient for each class room. Ceilings are all 13 feet high. Building is equipped 
With all necessary ventilating flues. The first floor has four ways of exit. The 
hall is large and spacious, with stairs well located. This modern brick school build- 
ing can be erected in almost any locality for $10,000.00. Plumbing, $1,000.00. Heat- 
ing, hot air, $450.00. Total cost $11,450.00. r p Morrison, Architect. 



39 




FRONT E^rVATIOtf. 




TW-^{ 



School at Oaklawn, Hot Springs, Ark. 
Front Elevation and Basement Plan. 



40 




.«/* 



CLHSS saant 



•A 



lf^ c 



3^1^ 



ll 



] |~] grlP-)EZ3| 



ifBBj 



v..rj 



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u&=± 



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First and Second Floor Plans, Oaklawn School. 
41 




►**•** 





State Normal, Conway, Arkansas. 



42 



School Grounds 



Selection. — It is on the school grounds that the principles taught in tho 
school room are put into practice; it is there that elementary problems of 
society and of citizenship are worked out through the independent action 
of the child in play. The plot of ground that nature has made most at- 
tractive in any city, village or rural district is just good enough for the 
public school. A school yard is adequate only when there is ample space 
for games and for characteristic trees, flowering shrubs and plants, and 
clinging vines as an integral part of the play grounds. When the school 
garden is added, the out-of-door condition will be ideal. Arkansas has 
been fortunate in securing ample area for school grounds, so it is with the 
use rather than the need of grounds that we have to deal. 

REASONS FOR TREE PLANTING. 

Protection. — The strongest reason for school ground planting is for the 
comfort of the teacher and pupils who occupy the building from seven to 
nine months each year. A school house so situated as wholly to lack pro- 
tection from inclement weather often subjects its occupants to distressing 
conditions. During winter gales there is an increasing demand for fuel, 
which, though supplied, often does not suffice to keep the building warm. 
The teacher is then put to test contriving methods by which no pupil shall 
endure more than his share of cold, and by which to maintain the usual 
good order during study hours and provide for indoor recreation at the rest 
periods. With the temperature hovering around freezing point during a 
howling blizzard, one has but to enter a country school room to appreciate 
its discomforts and see its need of protection. 

The winds of spring are almost as trying as those of winter, and in 
summer the sun beats down with unchecked violence. It is not too much 
to say that in nine cases out of ten exposed school grounds can be rendered 
comfortable by trees planted in windbreaks. 

Educational Value. — Children interested in the work of selecting, plant- 
ing, and growing trees and shrubs about the school can gain in the work no 
little knowledge of right principles and methods. Many people think that 
to plant a tree all that needs to be done is to dig up a sapling, or buy it, and 
set it in a hole. This is a great mistake, responsible for many unnecessary 
failures. Some knowledge of tree culture is a thing sure to prove useful 
to a large proportion of school children. 

Forestry is beginning to attract attention as a possible subject of school 
instruction. 

The school is supported at public expense in order to make good Amer- 
ican citizens. It aims at securing the highest possible development of mind 
and character. Every element of order, neatness, and beauty, every broad- 
ening influence, every appeal to the finer nature of the child means better 
men and women and a more thrifty, prosperous, and attractive community. 
Americans are justly proud of their school system, and should be willing 

43 



to support the schools not only with money, but with time and labor. — Wm. 
L. Hall, Washington. 

Method. — Before a stone is moved, a tree or shrub placed in its perma- 
nent location, children may be taught to deposit all paper, scraps of lunch- 
eon, and any debris in a receptacle provided for the purpose, be it nothing 
more than an empty barrel or box. When I say in, I don't mean to stand 
some fifteen or twenty feet away and throw it at the box. Pupils should be 
taught not to cut, mark or otherwise mar buildings, benches, fences, furni- 
ture or other school equipment. 

With the exception of trees, all these improvements may be accom- 
plished with no outlay other than the enthusiasm of the pupils and teachers 
and the co-operation of even a very few of the patrons. Rakes, a wheel- 
barrow, a shovel and pick are the necessary implements, all of which will 
gladly be loaned. Flowers may be had for the asking from the parents; 
or, in places fortunate enough to possess a greenhouse, will be donated in 
the spring. The florists of Little Rock have responded to every request 
most liberally, sending as much as two wagon loads at a time, while one of 
them, Mr. Tipton, has generously devoted much time in supervising the 
planting of shrubbery, and in thinning and trimming trees. A load of rich 
dirt, which can usually be had for the hauling, and the use of a horse and 
wagon for a few hours once a year, and the equipment is complete. In the 
division of labor each school of this city has adopted its own methods. 
Some places the grounds have been divided and different parts assigned to 
each grade with an interchange of labor when heavy work is necessary on 
the portion assigned to the younger pupils; the larger boys working on the 
First Grade for a time and the First Grade doing the lighter work on the 
part assigned to the higher grades. Thus fair exchange is no robbery. In 
other schools, where all work together, the boys have always gallantly re- 
sponded to the call to pick and shovel, while the girls have swept and 
planted for the boys. This was done after school the first year, the second 
year it was made a privilege, the work being done before school, noon and 
recess, while on a certain day those who had finished their studies were 
dismissed a little earlier. Last year Prof. Torreyson announced a general 
cleaning day, when all the pupils in the city who cared to assist were dis- 
missed an hour earlier, otherwise they continued their studies. — Mrs. 
Rhoton. 

The Planting Plan. — The first step is to prepare a plan. This should 
be a detailed outline of the planting based on a complete analysis of the 
situation. It should embody a map of the grounds, with the school house, 
outbuildings, and place for planting the trees accurately located. If the 
plan is presented at a meeting in the school house, a blackboard drawing 
should be made, showing the school ground and exactly what planting is 
proposed. In this way its advantages can be more clearly pointed out, and 
its defects, if there be any, will also be pointed out and remedied. 

It is scarcely to be expected that a plan will be made which will suit 
all; so here, as in other matters that concern communities, the majority 
should rule. It is always to be hoped that the school board, the teacher, 
and those most active in the improvement of the community will be in per- 
fect accord. If points of difference arise and are not settled after candid 
discussion, they should be referred to disinterested persons or dropped out 
of the plan entirely. 

44 



Selection of Trees. — As soon as a policy of planting is adopted, some 
experienced person should be appointed to superintend the preparation of 
the ground, the procuring of the trees, the planting, and the subsequent 
cultivation. 

Elms, oaks, and maples are to be had almost anywhere, and are easily 
transplanted. They are as beautiful as any trees to be found, and are in 
every way well adapted for the school ground. They grow on a variety of 
soils.— W. L. Hall. 

In Arkansas the choice of suitable deciduous trees, evergreens and 
shrubs is almost endless. Our native forests abound with an unequaled va- 
riety of shade and even ornamental trees, shrubs and vines that thrive in 
all sections of the state. This is one of the blessings of our benign climate. 

Preparation of the Soil. — Thorough preparation of the soil should pre- 
cede the planting. Where blocks or belts are to be formed, the ground 
should be plowed and prepared as for a garden crop. Clay soils are best 
plowed the previous fall, in order that the ground may weather over winter. 
On such soil sub-soiling is beneficial, and should precede the planting by 
at least one season. Just before planting time the ground should be pulver- 
ized with a roller or harrow. In regions having a copious rainfall it will 
frequently be necessary to plant the trees on a raised portion or mound of 
earth in order to keep the soil dry enough for them to thrive. The holes 
should be dug large enough to contain all the roots fully spread out, and 
deep enough to allow the tree to stand about three inches lower than it 
grew as a seedling. 

Time and Manner of Planting. — South of the thirty-seventh parallel 
fall planting is safe and often advantageous. North of this, spring planting 
should be the rule, as fall-planted trees can scarcely develop sufficient roots 
to sustain themselves during the winter. The most successful nurserymen 
practice early planting for deciduous trees, beginning operations as soon 
as the ground ceases freezing. Evergreens are not planted until late; some 
even wait until the young growth is started. If possible, planting should be 
done on a cool, cloudy day. Unless the day is very moist, the trees should 
be carried to the planting site in a barrel half filled with water, or a thin 
mixture of earth and water, and lifted out only as they are wanted. Even 
a minute's exposure to dry air will injure the delicate roots — the feeders 
of the tree. 

The roots should be extended in their natural positions and carefully 
packed in fine loam soil. It is a good practice to work the soil about each 
root separately and pack it solid with the foot. As the hole is filled, the 
earth should be compacted above the roots and around the stem, in order 
to hold the tree firmly in place. The last two inches of soil should be very 
fine, and should lie perfectly loose. It will serve as a mulch to retain the 
moisture. 

Trees shoud be planted neither in very wet nor in very dry soil. If 
the soil is wet, it is better to wait until it is drier. If too dry, the holes 
may be dug a few days beforehand and filled with water. They should be 
refilled as the water soaks away until the soil is fully moistened. A thor- 
ough irrigation, when that is possible, is still better. As soon as the soil 
becomes somewhat dry the trees should be planted. While it is a common 
custom to water at the time of planting, those who do no watering are 
usually the most successful. Even in the semi-arid regions some successful 

45 




Plans Suitable for Planting and Ornamenting Rural School Grounds. 
Wallace T. Hutchinson, Bureau of Forestry, Washington, D. C, Dec. 20, 1904. 
Legend: 1, Schoolhouse; 2, Shelterbelt; 3, Shade trees; 4, Shrubs; 5, Flow- 
er bed; 6, Coal shed; 7, Outbuilding. 

46 



growers apply no water, but keep up an excellent system of cultivation, 
thereby retaining the soil moisture. 

The trees should not stand so near together as to produce long, slender 
poles; on the contrary, short, thick trunks are desirable, to support large 
tops and withstand heavy winds. From 8 to 12 feet apart will be suitable 
spacing distance. — W. L. Hall. 

DRAPER'S "TEN COMMANDMENTS" ON TREE PLANTING. 

1. Do not allow roots to be exposed to the sun, drying winds, or frost. 

2. Prune, with a sharp clean cut, any broken or injured roots. 

3. Have the holes large enough to admit all the roots without cramp- 
ing. 

4. Plant in fine loam, enriched with thoroughly decomposed manure. 

5. Do not allow any green unfermented manure to come in contact 
with roots. 

6. Spread out the roots in their natural position and work fine loam 
among them, making it firm and compact. 

7. Do not plant too deep. Let upper roots be set an inch lower than 
before. 

8. Remove all broken branches, and cut back at least one-half of the 
previous year's growth of wood. 

9. If the season lacks the usual rainfall, water thoroughly twice a 
week. 

10. After-culture: Keep soil in a good degree of fertility. Mulching 
the trees in autumn with manure is beneficial. 

THE A, B, C OF LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

(a) Keep lawn centers open. 

(b) Plant in masses. 

(c) Avoid straight lines. 

Remove the rickety fences; tear down the dilapidated buildings and 
sheds; send the tin cans, broken boxes, and cinder piles the way of all 
useless things; clear the yards; in the place of the aforetime rubbish, grow 
things. This idea means good taste at home as well as at school; neat 
lawns, whether the premises be large or small; clean roads, clean streets, 
clean alleys; the abatement of nuisances; the elevation of farm as well as 
city life; the cultivation of interest in the moral, intellectual, and physical 
welfare of the community; and the creation of enthusiasm and love for the 
beautiful and the good. 

SCHOOL GARDENS. 

"Cultivation of the soil is basal to civilized life. To educate children 
without it is relapse to barbarism. To have every child, during ten years, 
own and care for a garden, however small, would do more than anything 
else to empty our prisons." — C. F. Hodge, Ph. D. 

"The value of children's gardens as a means for health, happiness, 
recreation, gentle but effective exercise, and as a preventive of moral and 
physical tuberculosis, is becoming more and more recognized. The excite- 
ment of games will often lead children far beyond their endurance; manual 
labor, when not compulsory, never does. When one is tired from manual 

47 




48 



labor he stops. Few persons realize that a child's backache, flushed face 
and unnaturally bright eyes are to be considered seriously. The healthy 
child is never lazy. It may have its likes and dislikes regarding certain 
kinds of occupations, but it is generally prone to perpetual motion, and often 
its occupation must be planned in order to keep it from too intense a strain. 

"A properly conducted children's garden develops every part of the 
body, straightens the back, broadens the chest, encourages deep breathing, 
without any verbal suggestion that it is wise and best for the child's health 
that it should do these things." — Mrs. Henry Parsons, New York City. 

The value of gardening is recognized as an educational factor every- 
where in the civilized world except in this Southern section of the United 
States. For many years Germany has led the world in school gardens. In 
Austria the law requires every school to have a gymnasium and a school 
garden. France has 30,000 such gardens. Sweden has had several school 
gardens for thirty years, and even Russia, in one province alone, one hun- 
dred thousand fruit trees have been planted for the schools. 

Why should the Southern people not wake up from indifference and 
carelessness concerning these matters and show the other nations that 
they can be successful school-gardeners, tree planters, and conservers of 
our nation's natural resources? We have a good climate, a fine variety of 
soils, a magnificent flora — unrivaled anywhere. Nothing is needed but work. 

The country child has every advantage over the child in the city, since 
he lives so near to nature; yet this advantage is made of no practical bene- 
fit in the rural school. It is by no means an accident that the great men 
of the world have come from' the country, for nowhere has a boy such ad- 
vantages in laying the foundations of an education as upon the farm. 

A FLOWER GARDEN DESPITE POULTRY AND LIVE STOCK. 

Mrs. Gunter, of Alabama, has solved the vexatious problem of a flower 
garden in a yard to which all kinds of live stock have free access. She 
names: 

First comes the scarlet-flowered quince, japonica, then spireas, white 
and pink, lilacs, syringa, deutzia, abelia, the lovely pink, and white crape 
myrtles, altheas, double and single. Any of these except syringa and the 
spireas may be used to form a hedge. There are the honeysuckles, both 
red and white, and Carolina jessamine that can withstand even goats. No 
kind of stock will eat any of the shrubs I name, except spireas, and they 
endure pruning well. California privet makes a good shade where a small 
tree is wanted. It is nearly evergreen and tough. A few roses can hold 
their own in my yard. James Sprunt can't be discouraged. The old pink 
daily, the blush rose and a beautiful little crimson tea, whose name I do 
not know. 

In my garden is a bed three feet wide, and here grow my fine roses, 
lilies, hyacinths, gladiolas, dahlias, violets and a few annuals. These fur- 
nish flowers for the vases. 

Mothers, teach your little boys to love flowers. 



49 



Mixed $hrub&\ 



Mixed Shrubs 



PLAYGROUND 



! 

I 




MAIN ROAD 



JTawAcre School Ground 
with /School Garden^ 



50 



The Library 



It has been said that, "We are influenced as much by our books as our 
friends and should use as much care in their selection." Still another 
wrote, "By their books ye shall know them." All agree that there should 
be books. No school is so small or so poor that it cannot, in some way, 
procure a few. These should be from the very best writers, the bindings 
may be governed by the funds available. 

The books may be in charge of some one person whose duty it should 
be to keep a record of each book loaned. Two weeks is the longest time 
one person is entitled to a book unless he "renews. "_ Frequently one of the 
most reliable students is elected to care for the books which are given out 
one day each week, preferably Friday. 

Aside from keeping the house and grounds clean and orderly there is 
nothing a school needs more than books of reference. In fact it is impos- 
sible to teach satisfactorily, some of the required branches without them. 

A book-case may be made by one of the larger boys or one of the 
fathers who might be interested. 

There should be a catalogue of all books owned by the school. 

A label should be placed on the backs of the books to aid in keeping 
in order on the shelves and finding a book quickly. 

A mark of ownership should be placed in each book. A rubber stamp 
for this purpose may be purchased. 

Keep the books upright on the shelves and do not crowd them. 

To prevent the loss of books an inventory should be taken at least 
twice each term. 





Public School at Columbus. 



51 



School Room Decoration 

Nellie May Schiee, Lincoln, Nebraska. 

What Millet once wrote of a picture to a friend may well be applied to 
decoration: 

"Things should not look as if they were brought together by accident 
and for the moment; they should have an innate and necessary connection. 
I want the people I paint to look as if they were dedicated to their station — 
as if it would be impossible for them to ever think of being anything but 
what they are. A work of art should be all of a piece, and people and things 
should be there for an end. I have the greatest horror of uselessness, 
however brilliant, and filling up. Such things can have no result but to 
distract the attention and weaken the whole. Nothing misplaced is beauti- 
ful." 

If in the child a sense of artistic appreciation is acquired the possession 
will be with him always. 

Through no means can this be better accomplished than by surrounding 
him with reproductions of works of art. 

No scheme for the decoration of the school room should ever be under- 
taken apart from the education of the child. The pictures hung upon the 
walls and the color of the walls should be determined after careful con- 
sideration of the direct effect upon him. 

The teacher of the present is fortunate as compared with his prede- 
cessor. Not only is the range of pictures much greater than it was, but 
processes have been invented which make it possible for a school to possess 
satisfactory pictures at a cost far less than a few years ago. No school need 
be without some pictures of sufficient size and excellence to make them 
worth hanging upon its walls. 

For the primary rooms, pictures showing maternal love, pictures of 
children and their games, animals especially in their relation to man, and 
pictures of nature should be selected. 

For the higher grades, portraits of the nation's founders and benefactors, 
historical scenes, etc., should be used. 

Among the most important decorations are selections from the chil- 
dren's work. Wherever possible, provide a low picture rail a foot or two 
above the wainscot upon which may be hung drawings, paintings and designs 
made by the children themselves. For background burlap, paper, cardboard 
or muslin is desirahle. 

'Casts may be used with advantage. These can be obtained in con- 
siderable variety, and are not very expensive. 

Let the children see all the good pictures you can, but remember that 
the influence of one good cast or picture, large enough to attract their 
attention, is worth more than any number of dozens of little things, by the 
very multiplication of which it is so easy to cheapen and dissipate the 
interest which we seek to cultivate. 

The Japanese, from whom we get such a wealth of decoration, use only 
a few objects in a room, and if, as often happens, they have a large col- 
lection, they change them frequently. 

I am telling you nothing new when I say that we are inclined to have 
too many things. We might begin a work of decoration in our school rooms 
by putting away what does not help to make the room beautiful. Then, if 
we are able to add some good picture or cast, it will be much more effective, 
from the fact that there are fewer things in the room with which it must 
divide attention. 

52 



Sanitation 



"The school room should be a place of beauty, not a place of ugliness; a 
place of comfort, not a place of discomfort; a place of cleanness, not a place 
of uncleanness; about it the grass should grow green and the sun shine 
bright, the flowers bloom and the birds sing, and the trees wave their long 
arms, that the children, while listening to the lessons taught by man and 
books, may receive also from the potent, silent influences of environment, 
the sweet messages of peace, and love, and culture, and beauty." 

There is not a schoolhouse that cannot be made to meet these con- 
ditions; but still we find many of them with neglected grounds, unpainte.l 
without, dingy and bare within, with possibly a few gaudy chromos tacked 
upon the walls, that cry aloud, "Better bare walls than debasing art!"' 

Yet every child is entitled to a c'.ean, airy, well-lighted attractive school 
room. Aesthetics, ethics, and hygiene demand that the school room be kept 
clean. The text here should be "Cleanliness is next to Godliness." 

If the work is divided among groups of pupils, it will be easily and 
quickly done. A Junior Auxiliary of the School Improvement Association 
has proven very effective in maintaining "beauty in the school room." 
Mats and scrapers at the door will greatly reduce the amount of dust and 
dirt in the school room. A soft rag dampened with kerosene is most effec- 
tive in removing dust from the furniture, while a feather duster merely 
scatters it in the air to settle down again. 

"No school is doing its best work until it is recognized as the social, 
literary, and art center of the community." Does your school meet these 
conditions?— Miss Susie V. Powell, State President S. I. A., Mississippi. 





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A Lamentable Condition, Found too Frequently. 



53 



How to Keep Well 



1. Air. 

Fresh air and sunshine are necessary to good health. 
Cold or damp fresh air does no harm if the skin is kept warm. 
.Night air is as good as day air. 
Breathe only through your nose. 
Avoid hot, crowded, lusty, dark or damp rooms. 
Breathe deeply and throw back the shoulders frequently. 

2. Food. 

Live on plain food and eat regular]y. 

Eat slowly, chew thoroughly, and avoid fried food. 

Drink water freely (not iced). 

Have your own cup if drinking fountains are not provided at school. 

3. Exercise and rest. 

Regular exercise is essential to good health. 

Go to bed early and sleep with the windows open. 

iNever sleep in a damp bed. 

4. Clothing. 

Wear only loose clothes. 

Wear no more clothing than you need for warmth. 

INever sit with wet feet in damp clothing. 

5. Cleanliness. 

Consumption and other diseases are spread by careless spitting. 
Spittle on the floors of rooms, halls, stores and cars will certainly be 
breathed in the form of dust. 

Keep clean. Wipe and dry the body quickly every day. 

Keep your finger-nails clean, and wash your hands and face before 
you eat. 

Clean your teeth after each meal and before going to bed. 

Never hold money, pencils, pins, or other things in your mouth. 

Never lick your fingers while turning the pages of a book or count- 
ing money. 

(This simple outline of health rules has been printed on a large placard 
and placed by authority in every school room in New Jersey, and has been 
given wide acceptance and publicity in the reports of other State Educa- 
tional Departments.) 



54 



The Economy of a Well Ventilated School Room 

Scientific experiment has shown that when pure air has been breathed 
through the lungs, its oxygen has decreased by one-fifth and its carbonic 
acid has increased at least a hundred times. 

Vapors condensed from the lungs of human beings and injected under 
the skin of a rabbit cause difficult breathing, a lowering of the temperature, 
paralytic weakness, convulsions, and, in some cases, speedy death. 

Harmful effects just as surely follow the breathing of the same air 
over and over in the school-room. It causes physical depression. By lower- 
ing the vitality, it retards mental development, and makes the pupil an easy 
prey to coughs, colds and contagious diseases. 

Thomas S. Ainge, Sanitary Engineer of the Michigan Department of 
Health, writing on this subject, said: 

"As a result of an investigation conducted by the State Board of Health 
of Indiana, relative to the ventilation of school buildings in that state, it was 
found that in a single term, 80 per cent of the pupils suffered from colds or 
coughs, and that 90 per cent of these ailments were due to the bad air of 
the school-room. Commenting upon this condition, it was stated by the 
Secretary of the Board that as 20 per cent of all deaths from consumption 
in that state are in the age period of 15 to 25 years, the lungs of the decedents 
were probably prepared for the consumptive germ by breathing bad air at 
school. 

"•In Michigan over 90 per cent of the cases of pneumonia and at least 
80 per cent of the cases of consumption, in recent years, were reported to 
have their beginning in a bad cold or cough, and many of these were 
probably due to the attempt to regulate the temperature and improve the 
conditions of the air in school-rooms by the opening of windows." 

It is these facts that make the proper heating and ventilation of school- 
rooms a real problem. It is because patrons of country districts have not 
realized and appreciated these facts that modern heating and ventilation 
has so long been neglected in rural schools. 

The discomfort caused by the direct radiation is the most apparent 
objection to the ordinary stove in the school-room. No circulation is pro- 
vided to distribute the warmth evenly. Pupils seated near the stove are 
over-heated. Those farther away are not warm enough. The floor is cold. 
The effects of poor ventilation are less apparent but more harmful and 
far-reaching. If ventilation is secured through open windows, the over- 
heated and sensitive bodies of the children are exposed to cold drafts of 
air. Dr. Hurty, of the Indiana Board of Health says: "It is absolutely 
impossible to properly ventilate a school-room by windows and doors in the 
winter time." 

It follows, then, that a heating plant suitable for smaller schools must 
warm the room evenly, and ventilate thoroughly. It is also important that 
it be installed and operated at a reasonable cost. 

Such a system should have an enclosed or jacketed heater, operating on 
the indirect principle rather than by direct radiation. It must also provide 
two special openings or ducts — one for the admission of fresh air from 
outside, and one for the escape of vitiated air from within; and the neces- 
sary changes of air must take place without drafts or discomfort. 

55 



As a type of the best heating systems for small schools, economical and 
of proven merit, the Waterman-Waterbury System is explained and illus- 
trated. 




THE WATERBIURY SYSTEM. 
Style "B," used in connection with chimneys extending to the floor. 



THE WATERBURY SYSTEM. 

These essentials are provided in the Waterbury System, manufactured 
by the Waterman-Waterbury Company, of Minneapolis, Minn, and Spring 
field, 111., and which is illustrated on these pages. 

The heater in this system is built on furnace lines, straight and cylind- 
rical, with free circulation all around it, and the maximum radiating surface. 
Its walls of 10-gauge steel are much heavier than the material used in 
ordinary stoves. The sections are held together with rods on the outside 
so the heavy fire pot can always be taken out and easily replaced. This 

57 



doubles the life of the furnace — makes it about as near indestructible as a 
furnace can be made. The boiler riveting, and the perfect fitting of doors 
and drafts, makes air-tight construction; that means perfect control of the 
fire and a saving of fuel. 

The furnace is enclosed within a casing — copper electroplate steel on 
the outside; the inner lining of corrugated tin, with two thicknesses of 
absestos between — all riveted firmly together. This casing is heat proof, a 
pupil can sit close beside it without discomfort. 




WATERBURY SPECIAL FURNACE. 
Showing Boiler Riveted Construction and Removable Fire-pot. 



The intake brings fresh air into the casing directly from out-of-doors. 
It has a screened face flush with the outside wall. Patent deflectors within 
the intake turn the incoming air upward around the furnace where it is 
thoroughly heated before it can escape at the top. 

It is one of the advantages of this system that it has three methods of 
withdrawing foul air from the room. One style of ventilator Is adapted to 
large chimneys built down to the floor. Another is for large chimneys built 
on a shelf. The third is installed in all schools having a chimney flue too 
small to carry both smoke and ventilating currents. This is the style of 
ventilator shown in the cross-sectional views of the Waterbury System. It is 
known as Style "C" — the ventilating pipe partly enclosed within the casing 
and extending through the ceiling and roof, this pipe is heated by direct 
radiation from the furnace. Air is bound to rise inside a heated pipe or 



flue, so there is a steady current moving from the floor up through 
this pipe. And just as surely as there is air going out through the ventilator, 
there must be fresh air coming through the intake to take its place. 

As the air within the casing is warmed it rises toward the ceiling. Be- 
ing lighter and more buoyant than the colder air, it follows the path of least 
resistance and spreads over the entire room. As it is forced downward by 
more warm air from the casing, it diffuses its heat evenly throughout the 
room. By the time it has been breathed, its oxygen used, its heat gone, it 
is following the foul air current back to the plant. Here it is partly taken 
up through the ventilator and expelled, and partly taken back into the casing, 
reheated and recirculated. For every cubic foot of foul air that goes out, a 
cubic foot of fresh air comes in through the intake. This process continues 
right along from the time a fire is started. It gives a constant movement 
of air through the room. 

The school-room is evenly heated from one end to the other. The air 
which the children breath is pure and fresh. No pupil is too warm ; because 
the heat is distributed evenly over the room. The side of the pupil that 
is turned toward the heating plant is no warmer than the side that ! s 
turned away; it is an indirect system of heating, and the pupils are warmed, 
not by direct rays of heat which could strike them only on one side at a 
time, but by the flooding of warm air all around them. 

The floor is warm and the upper part of the room is not too warm; 
because the cooler layers of air from near the floor are constantly drawn 
off and the warmer layers from above drawn down to replace them. 

The room is quickly warmed in the morning, because of the great 
capacity of the Waterbury casing. All of the air of the ordinary school-room 
can be pumped through this casing many times in the course of half an 
hour. 

There are no cold drafts; the fresh air is brought in through the 
Waterbury casing and thoroughly heated before it is distributed over the 
room. 

No fuel is wasted in the process of ventilation; the air is removed from 
the lower part of the room after it has given up its heat, and fallen to the 
floor on account of its increased weight when cooled. 

A comfortable, evenly heated room, with a complete change of air 
several times each hour, increases the efficiency of the school. Better work 
is possible on the part of both teacher and pupil. There is far less danger 
to health. By reducing the number of colds, coughs, and sickness to the 
minimum there is an improvement in attendance, in discipline, and in 
scholarship. 

The system that is here described can be installed in any school-house 
at any time. It requires no basement or any alterations. It can be pur- 
chased with a guarantee to give satisfactory service both in heating and in 
ventilation. The cost is within reach of every rural district. 

WHAT THE WATERBURY SYSTEM OF HEATING AND VENTILATION 
DOES WHEN INSTALLED IN A SCHOOL ROOM. 

First— Supplies large volumes of fresh air rich in oxygen, and thoroughly 
warms and distributes this air over the entire room. 

Second — Removes from the room an equal volume of air which has been 
depleted of its life-sustaining element and has become poisoned by large 

59 



quantities of carbonic acid gas, and organic impurities. In short, completely 
renews the air of the room from five to eight times per hour. 

Third — Does away with window ventilation, which is almost as great an 
evil as impure air, admitting as it does, cold drafts to the school room, 
causing colds, coughs, and kindred ailments. 

Fourth — Maintains a uniform temiperature all over the room. 

Fifth — Absolutely eliminates the cold floor problem and "dreaded hot 
stove." 

Sixth — Adds 25 per cent to the seating capacity by removing the 
plant to the corner of the room; changes unsightly heater to a heating 
plant of pleasing design. 

Seventh — Reduces amount of district's fuel bill by utilizing the heat 
that is usually wasted in overheating the upper portion of the room and 
that part immediately surrounding the stove. 

Eighth — 'Saves the people of the district many times the cost of the 
plant in doctor bills, to say nothing of the many days' absence on account 
of illness. 

Ninth — Adds 25 per cent to the efficiency of the school because of the 
better work accomplished under improved conditions. 

Tenth — The whole apparatus is under the direct supervision of the 
teachers, who can attend to it without leaving the room. 

Eleventh — Its operation is so simple that any person with ordinary 
intelligence can secure perfect results. 

Twelfth — It can be installed in old schools as well as new and at any 
time of the year. It costs only one-fourth (%i) as much as a basement fur- 
nace and will give decidedly better results. Does not require a basement. 




Section of heat-proof casing used with the Waterbury System. 



60 



A Sanitary Drinking Fountain 

The use of a common drinking cup in schools is now prohibited in some 
states. Boards are required to furnish either individual cups or a drinking 
fountain. In the near future we may expect to find but few states in which 
this unnecessary cause of the spread of disease will be tolerated. 

Progressive bonds and school patrons will not wait for legislative 
enactment to abolish this grave danger to the health of children. The fact 
that a bacteriological examination of the margin of any common drinking 
cup that has been in use for any length of time will show thousands of 
disease germs — that these germs are readily communicated to persons using 
the cup — that many cases of consumption, diphtheria and other infectious 
diseases are contracted in this way — these are sufficient reasons for abol- 
ishing the evil. 

A sanitary drinking fountain is now available in practically every 
school, and is much more satisfactory than individual drinking cups. A 
number of fountains are manufactured to be used with water under pres- 
sure. A new sanitary fountain introduced by the Waterman-Waterbury Co., 
Minneapolis, Minn., is suitable for all school buildings, including those in 
rural districts. It is shown in the accompanying illustrations. 

There are many features of the Waterbury Sanitary Drinking Fountain 
that will commend it to school boards. The principal advantages are: 

First. It does not require water under pressure. The fountain is com- 
plete in itself and may be placed on the floor of any school room. 

Second. The bowl, with the upturned faucet which delivers the jet of 
water, is adjustable. It may be instantly raised or lowered to any height, 
to suit the convenience of the child who is drinking. 

Third. The tank is provided with a filter, which insures pure water 
The filter is of Tripoli stone, one of the best devices for perfect filtration. 

Fourth. This fountain includes a water-cooler. The water is kept at a 
suitable temperature for drinking purposes without the use of ice. 

Fifth. The fountain is provided with an automatic measuring device 
At each operation of the lever a single cupful of water is measured and 
delivered through the faucet. This avoids unnecessary waste of water. 

Another automatic feature is the uniform pressure maintained. The 
force with which water issues from the faucet is always the same, and is 
not affected by the quantity of water in the tank. Water does not bubble 
over the top of the faucet, but rises in a jet to just the right height to 
afford the greatest convenience in drinking. 

The "Waterbury" is perfectly sanitary. The mouth of a person drink- 
ing does not come in contact with the faucet or bowl. Every drop of 
water issuing from the faucet, and not consumed, falls into the bowl and 
is conveyed to the waste tank. 

In materials and construction this fountain is as hygienic as in its 
operation. Glazed earthenware is used in the • filter tank. The cooling 
tank is also of earthenware. The bowl is enameled. No metal parts with 
which water comes in contact are subject to rust or corrosion. The foun- 
tain is carefully made, and may be kept in perfect order with very little 
attention. It is well finished, with nickeled trimmings, and presents an 
attractive appearance in the school room. 

61 



^ 




THE WATERBURY SANITARY DRINKING FOUNTAIN. 

The complete fountain as it appears in the school room. Includes filter 
jar, with Tripoli stone filter; water cooler; and adjustable bowl. 



62 




THE WATERBURY SANITARY DRINKING FOUNTAIN. 

This cut, with the one on preceding page, illustrates how the bowl is 
raised or lowered, according to the height of the child who is drinking. 



63 






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